Monday, May 26, 2014

Episode 68: Xmen: Back to the Days of Future Past

Hello from the Future... or is it the Past ? Hmm... time is such a pain in the ass when it comes to using the proper tense for words.  Well temporal grammar aside welcome to another week in geek where Bat, the Fanboy and I review Xmen: Days of Future Past.  Does this movie live up to all of the hype (and the ginormous cast) and continue on the awesome train that First Class started?  Or does this movie join X3 and Xmen Origins: Wolverine in the corner of depressingly bad Xmen movies?  Listen in to find out.

We also discuss this weeks Streaming Review of "Back in the Day."  I won't sugar coat it boys and girls, this one is bad.  With all 3 of us wishing we could give it less than 1 star, this movie is not even worth your time.  If you want to see what you are not missing from this "a raunchy comedy about a guy going back hometown" then check out the trailer below... or watch this video of a Cat saving a kid instead.  The choice is yours



Our next Streaming review, care of Hammer, is the Michael Bay Explosions + Bodybuilding + Kidnapping= Movie "Pain and Gain."  The movie stars Marky Mark and The Rock as part of a trio of bodybuilders that get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong.  Check out the trailer below, honestly how bad can this movie be?




This movie can be found on Netlfix so If you want to be a part of the review next week make sure to send us your reviews via Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com

This week we tackle the tough and not so tough geek topics of this week including our thoughts on: Goyer's comments regarding She-Hulk and Comic fans, Edgar Wright stepping down as Director of Antman and DC's reveal of the new Man of Steel movie "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice."  Funny how Superman gets second billing on his own squeal huh?



Click here to listen to this weeks podcast in iTunes or Sticher.
We've also included the most recent episode via the embedded link below





I want to take a brief moment to wish Ken "The Web" Brown a very happy birthday.  We did get to watch Xmen: DoFP with him and his family but because it was so late in the evening we weren't able to have him on the show.  But it wouldn't be right to do 
a Summer Comic movie review without Ken's input so here is an SzG exclusive spoiler free review by "The Web"


The days of future past is my favorite

X-men story concept of all time.  So, I went into the movie hoping it

was not going to break my heart like some X-men movies of the
past.  This time I left the theater with no gripes at all!
The story was fluid and easy to follow!  Where some time travel pieces
can lose the audience, this one kept you in the loop with ease.  Sure
there were differences between the comic and the film's story but
not once did I tell myself that this is too far off the beaten path.
So overall, I am glad I saw the movie this "past Friday"and a I will
be looking forward to adding it to my Blu-Ray collection upon its
"Future" release.

There you have it Kiddos!  The Web recommends giving this time travel bonanza a watch!





Here is a link to the Scriptnotes Podcast that the Goyer statements about Shehulk and Comic fans is pulled from. Also here is the link to the Mary Sue and IGN articles in response to Goyer.



If you are wanting more Xmen in your life or just wanting to delve into the Comic history of your favorite X-man/woman then give this AV Club article a read.  It's filled to the brim with pretty infographics and a bunch of history.


There is also an iOS game out for 3$ that  adapts the original comic story into a side scrolling comic history lesson.  Kotaku offers up a brief review here if you are interested.








As always we wrap things up this week by answering our SzG Podquestion, “What other Xman/woman do you think should take over as the lead character for the cinematic universe?”  

Charles                Gambit
Fanboy                Nightcrawler
Bat                       Gambit
Hammer               Mystique 



With the pending release of Maleficent and the now announced Cinderella movie next weeks Podquestion is  "What is the next Disney movie that you want to see get the Live Action treatment?"  We want to hear your answers so let us know via Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com



That's all for this weeks edition of the Sprecken ze Geek Blogcast and be sure to tune in next week.  Same Bat Time, Same Bat and Hammer Channel. 



-Hammer






Thursday, May 22, 2014

Now You See Me - Review

   There are those movies that make it to the top of our watch list, and then when they get there, they sit unwatched, earning for your attention. This was Now You See Me for me. Borrowed from a friend nearly 6 months ago, there it sat on my speaker like the ever present Elf on a Shelf. Finally the day came where we finished our current TV show on Netflix (Friday Night Lights. Expect a full review soon) and decided to dust off (literally) the bluray case and give this movie a shot. Maybe it's because we didn't watch this during the buzz of last summer but we enjoyed it.

Now You See Me follows a foursome of magicians across several heists. What starts as just a "simple" Vegas show illusion, soon turns into a cat and mouse game with the FBI. Along the way Now You See Me takes the audience of some fun and even awe inspiring twists and turns. Morgan Freeman turns in another stellar performance, but the true star of the movie is Jesse Eisenberg. His "leader" role is solid and fun. Sadly the talents of Isla Fisher go mostly wasted as her character feels like a throwaway character.

One aspect usually overlooked in movies is the cinematography. This is a beautiful movie. Not in the typical CGI heavy beautiful aspect, but the real world locations (New Orleans) seem to pop off the screen. Even the "impossible" magic tricks are beautifully done.

The suspense of who and how is intriguing and keeps the movie from deviating off course. If you're looking for a movie to just watch and have fun, I recommend giving Now You See Me a shot.

3/5

Bat

Monday, May 19, 2014

Episode 67: Go go go Gojira!

Welcome back for a wonderful time where Bat and Hammer review the King of Kaiju himself, Godzilla.  Does the semi-dynamic duo enjoy the Large Lizards latest romp?  Well tune in an find out what we think if our spoiler free and spoiler filled reviews.  This week we also go over last weeks streaming review of the Liam Neeson survival movie, "The Grey."

Both Bat and I seemed a little miffed by this one as he gave it a 2(would have been 2 1/2) star review on Netflix while I gave it 3(I'm kind of second guessing it).  The movie just felt empty of any sustiance and it really just... well ended.  Without any closure or anything, we recommend you steer away from this one and better spend your time elsewhere unless you like 'survival' movies.

 

This week Bat offers up his suggestion of "Back in the Day," a raunchy comedy about a guy going back hometown for his High School Reunion and wacky hi jinks ensue.  Written, Directed and Acted by Lex Luthor himself, Michael Rosenbaum.  Have a look see at the trailer below.



This movie can be found on Netlfix so If you want to be a part of the review next week make sure to send us your reviews via Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com



And it looks like the summer news keeps on rolling with confirmed news that Channing Tatum will play Gambit, Xbox rolling out some serious changes, Halo 5 announced, the Batman suit reveal, Flash TV Show trailer, Elsa coming to Once, Cinderella Teaser, Sony's money troubles and Fantastic Beasts gets a release date.

Click here to listen to this weeks podcast in iTunes or Sticher.
We've also included the most recent episode via the embedded link below










What did you think of  Batfleck's costume?

Also if you have a favorite Meme related to the reveal post it in the comments below.

Here are a few of my favorites
You can find a whole mess of them on this Screen Rant Article.


   



Here's the Flash TV Show Trailer for the CW, be prepared though as this 5 min video kinda explains what could be the whole first season.  Here's to hoping that the show will have enough fun ab jokes to keep us around.  Thanks again to Christian for posting the link to the full trailer on Facebook, digital high five to you my friend.





Here is the Wolverine video that the Webmistress shared with us and we now share with you.



We Also have some Free Shit, Good Shit for June care of Xbox, Super Early guys but we aren't complaining.

Xbox One:  Halo: Spartan Assault
                   Max: The Curse of Brotherhood

Xbox 360:   Darksouls
                   Charlie Murder
                   Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition



We wrap things up this week by answering our SzG Podquestion, “What do you want the other 4 unannounced DC movies to be?”  

Fanboy                Batman Beyond
Bat                       Aquaman, Wonderwoman,  Green Arrown, Batman Beyond
Hammer               Aquaman, Wonderwoman, Green Lantern, Teen Titans or Sucide Squad



Thanks everyone for participating and as a reward we yet have another Podquestion regarding Hugh Jackman winding down on Wolverine  "What other Xman/woman do you think should take over as the lead character for the cinematic universe?"  We want to hear your answers so let us know via Facebook, Twitter or email us at Batandhammer@gmail.com



That's all for this weeks edition of Sprecken ze Geek and be sure to tune in next week.  Same Bat Time, Same Bat and Hammer Channel. 



-Hammer





Monday, May 12, 2014

SzG Reviews: OldBoy (2013)

**This Review was supposed to go up during the theatrical release of the movie but it was lost.  I retooled it a little bit and here it is in its full glory.  Hope you enjoy


Hammer Says: See this in theaters!

So I must confess I used to be a HUGE Asian movie fan back in the day.  And by Asian I'm referring to Korean, Japanese and Chinese movies.   Every big convention I attended had me searching for the new/old DVDs of Asian movies that I had to have.  Many of these times I had only briefly read about these movies as this was back before the streaming and downloading revolution that we now live in after all.  Why do I bring this up for the review of OldBoy? Well, in my travels I had definitely heard of the prolific OldBoy but I had never gotten around to seeing it.  Even today with the movie just a Netflix click away and no excuses I still had not seen it.  Shame me now, I know my old Con scouring self would have. Enough of that existential nonsense. For those in the dark, I'm sure there are few out there, OldBoy is a remake of the Korean movie of the same name made back in 2003.

Episode 66: Assault on Geek Street

Welcome dear listener to another week in geek with Bat and Hammer.  We are joined by Mando and TK, good friends of the show and first time guests.  We start off with our streaming review of Assault on Wall Street and then with our powers combined we tackle a plethora of nerd news   This weeks topics include: DC's proposed 9 new movies, Netflix price increase, Drive Club PSplus folly, Gotham trailer, Agent Carter ordered to series, a Comic Spidey Retcon, Marvel Video Games getting a shared universe, Borderlands 2 Vita, Eve Memorial vandalized, Showtime helping with Halo show and Power Rangers getting a new movie. 

Monday, May 5, 2014

Episode 65: the Amazing Spider Stalker

This week we bring you the 2nd in our 4 part Summer Marvel Movie Review featuring everyone's favorite Ken "The Web" Brown.  This week the thrilling trio reviews "The Amazing Spiderman 2."  Do we find it amazing or is it just a deuce?  We offer up our honest and spoiler free reviews along with some Spidey history and then bring it home with our out right Spoilerific review.  We also dabble in the new Starwars Casting and some Free Comic Book Day stories.